


How to tell

by RainbowSloth



Category: RWBY
Genre: Autism, Autistic!Ruby, Gen, team relationship - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 13:54:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19725019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowSloth/pseuds/RainbowSloth
Summary: Team RWBY has been together for a few months, and yet Ruby has not told Blake or Weiss about her autism.





	How to tell

The dorm room was quite, the only noise that could be heard was the tapping of fingers on the screen of a scroll. Yang laid on her bed playing a game on her scroll waiting for her teammates to return from their activities. Suddenly she heard the click of the door unlocking and opening, to reveal her baby sister. 

“Hey Rubes.” Yang greeted as Ruby shuffled into the room.

“Hey Yang.” Ruby mumbled keeping her eyes on the dorm floor.

“Alright, what’s up with the long face?” Yang asked noticing the behavior of an upset Ruby. 

Ruby sighed before mumbling, “Weiss is mad at me.” 

“You're going to need to be more specific there Rubes. I mean Weiss is almost always mad at you.” Yang replied truthfully, giving her sister her full attention. 

“Well, Weiss asked me if I wanted to go to the library to start studying for the test we have in Ports class, and I said yes, cuz you know studying is important and she really helps me in some subjects.” Ruby rambled before pausing, and realized she was getting off topic. “Anyway, when we got there there was a lot more people than I was expecting, but I didn't say anything to Weiss about that. So we started to study like normal, but there was a lot of noise and movement and I couldn't concentrate, and I was starting to get uncomfortable. I started to do some of my more subtle stims to try and calm myself down and focus. It worked for the most part but as I got more comfortable I started to do some other stims without noticing.” Ruby explained, and Yang knew exactly where this story was heading, so she finished for her.

“Let me guess. You started playing with her fingers without asking if you could and she yelled at you.” Yang started with a sigh.  
“Yeah.” Ruby mumbled kicking at the floor. “ She told me not to touch her and then stood up and left.” 

“Ruby I always tell you not to touch other people without asking. I also told you that you should tell Weiss and Blake about your autism. It’s been a few months since we became a team.” Yang said jumping down from her bed to stand in front of Ruby.

“I know all that, but I was finally at a school where no one knew about my autism and couldn’t make fun of me for it. I just wanted to be seen as a normal girl for once, and not some weirdo or freak.” Ruby replied sadly staring down at her boots.

“Hey, look at me, Ruby.” Yang said gently. She waited for Ruby to finally make eye contact with her. “ You are not a freak or a weirdo, you are just Ruby, a girl who goes about things differently than others. But that's okay because being normal is overrated. I mean look at me, am I normal?” Yang asked.

Ruby snorted. “You are anything but normal Yang.” Ruby answered.

“Exactly. Everyone is different Ruby, and that's a good thing. If everyone was the same then there would be no originality, and that's no way to live.” Yang explained while pulling Ruby into a gently hug. 

“With that being said I really think you need to tell the rest of the team about your autism so they can understand the things you do differently.” Yang said quietly.  
Ruby nodded into Yangs shoulder and replied with a whispered, “I know.” 

To say Ruby was nervous was a major understatement. Her and Yang had talked about how to go about telling the rest of the team about her autism. They decided that being upfront and truthful was the best way, but having a plan didn't make her feel any better. For most of her life Ruby was picked on and bullied because of the way she did things. No one except her family understood why she does things the way she does, having or being on the verge of having a panic attack in loud places, or stimming to keep herself calm. 

Ruby was on the verge of having a panic attack when Blake and Weiss finally walked into the dorm room. Ruby could hear Yang tell the other girls that there was something they had to talk about, but here voice was far away. Ruby continue to rock back and forth and rub the material of her skirt in between her pointer finger and thumb. Yang could see that Ruby was panicking, so she walked up to her and placed a firm hand on to Rubies shoulder to ground her. Yang could tell almost instantly how that had brought Ruby out of her own head and back to the present. Ruby made eye contact before nodding, signalling that she was okay. Yang didn't move away, she just sat down next to Ruby and kept her hand where it was. 

“Like I said earlier Ruby has something to tell you guys.” Yang stated addressing the other two people in the room. She looked away from her sister to look at them. Weiss was looking at them with confusion and slight impatience, while Blake looked on with indifference and subtle curiosity. 

“Rubes.”Yang prodded gently. 

“Huh. Oh right.” Ruby mumbled and looked away. “So we’ve been together for about a few months and Yang has pointed out that you guys should probably know something bout me so, in the future you're not confused or get mad at me for doing something weird.” Ruby continued to mumble just a little bit louder. She took a deep breath and started to rock back a forth again to calm her nerves, before looking up at Weiss and Blake. “ I have Autism.” She stated louder. 

Neither Blake or Weiss said anything they just continued to look at Ruby and Yang. Ruby started to rock faster and looked down at her hands that were now playing with Yangs unoccupied hand. 

“We just thought you guys should know because I do some weird things when I’m nervous, uncomfortable, or overwhelmed. Like playing with someone else's fingers, rocking back and forth, playing with the fabric of clothing and a bunch of other stuff too. I can't really focus in crowded places and if I'm in a loud place I start to feel overwhelmed, which can lead to a panic attack. I have a few routines that I have to do the same way everyday or else my whole day is thrown off and I can't think about anything else except that and …”

“Ruby.” Yang said loudly to stop Rubies rambling. Ruby finally stopped talking and looked up from their hands. Yang looked like she wanted to laugh, but thought better of it. Blake also looked amused, but mostly understanding. Weiss looked exasperated, but also had a look of understanding. The room was silent for a few minutes as everyone let what had been said sink in. Weiss was the first to break the silence.

“So that’s why you grabbed my hand when we were in the library earlier?” Weiss asked.

Ruby made eye contact before answering. “Yeah, there were a lot of people in the library and I couldn't focus on studying. Yang's always telling me I need to ask permission before touching people and I usually do, but earlier I wasn’t paying attention and I did it without thinking. I’m sorry Weiss.” 

“It’s fine Ruby, I understand. Next time ask or give me a little heads up before you do that, okay?” Weiss replied easily.

Ruby nodded. “ I’ll try my best to remember that.” Weiss nodded back.

“What about you Blake?” Yang cut in bringing attention to the only person who hadn't said anything yet.

“I kind of had a suspicion that that was what was going on. I recognized a few of the traits after a month of living in the same room, but I didn't want to assume anything so I kept quiet.” Blake stated simply.

“Alrighty then.” Yang stated happy that their team was so understanding. She was also slightly impressed Blake figured it out so fast, especially with how Ruby was trying to be subtle and hide it. “Now that that is out of the way let's go get dinner.” Yang said standing up and stretching.


End file.
